Little Things
by Sebastina Michaelis
Summary: Levi can't help but to notice a certain blond who always seems to be sitting on a park bench when he walks by. But there seems to be something off about him.


**Little Things**

_He's always sitting there...at least it's starting to feel that way._ Every time I passed through this park on my way home from work he was sitting there smiling cheerfully at the people passing by like it was the most important thing in the world. Only today his usual, cheerful smile was gone. His blond hair covered most of his face and he appeared to be engrossed in the book he had. I couldn't have been the only one who noticed him trying to hide in his little bubble. And where the hell did that book come from? I had never seen him reading, not once. _Why do I care so much? He's just some brat._ Still… I couldn't bring myself to just want past him.

Sighing, I fixed my scarf and sat on the opposite side of his bench. The blond started and almost dropped his book before simultaneously deciding it was time he left. _How many times have I walked by without saying anything to him?_ "Don't leave on my account."

"It's not you, I came out of habit."

After casting a quick glanced at him I zipped his coat up the rest of the way as he put his book in his bag. The action was purely out of habit. Hanji would go running around in t-shirts year round if I didn't make her bundle up before she left the house. Ironically she always made sure I was bundled up before I left and was always forgetting her own coat. "You'll get sick."

"Thanks…" He wiped his face on his sleeve and took a deep, shuddering breath, clutching the strap of his bag.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I don't want to bother you." He threw his bag over his shoulder and checked his phone, even though I hadn't heard it go off. He sighed and bit his bottom lip, looking around like he was unsure of whether he wanted to say or not.

It never occurred to me that he might have been waiting for someone everyday until now. "How long?"

"Five years, but it's okay I guess. High school romances don't really count." He leaned back and stared up at the sky, thinking about something. For all I knew he was thinking about his girlfriend. Five years was a long time, this wasn't something he was just going to get over overnight.

"Says who? I haven't been in a decent relationship since High School. The only thing people my age want are a family and a house. Or they're afraid of dying alone."

"You don't want to get married?"

_He says that so casually, like he's thought about it before. Just how old was this kid?_ At first glance he didn't look much older than 15 but that couldn't have been the case. His bright blue eyes bored into my grey once and the few tears there that threatened to spill over dissapeared for the time being. "It's just a piece of paper and a ring. What's the big deal? _Maybe_ I'd wear a ring if it meant that much to him but not the rest."

I caught a ghost of a smile when he looked down at his hands and asked, "Him?"

"Yeah him, you got a problem with that?"

He laughed nervously and forced a small smile. "I just always figured you were with that girl with the glasses." His eyes widened and he quickly rushed to cover himself as if he had said something wrong. "Not that I was staring or anything, but it looks like you two are attached at the hip."

I snorted and shook my head. _It looks like I wasn't the only one who noticed him._ "Hell no. She's obnoxious and pushes my buttons on purpose. Not to mention the fact that she can't seem to do the fucking dishes once and awhile, but at the end of the day the stupid four-eyes is my best friend."

"Must be nice… I haven't seen my friends since they moved."

I moved closer to him again, and wondered out loud. "Why did that idiot break up with you? From what I had seen this kid was perfect. Who would let him go? Maybe a bit insecure but nowadays that was a dime a dozen. I might have been missing something, but the fact that he was sitting out here in the cold showed dedication. He bit his bottom lip and stared down at the frost bitten ground, obviously wondering the same thing myself. "He said I was being too clingy, but I guess anything you can come up with would be better. He already asked me to prom… we applied for the same college and he kept making all these plans for the future like we would be together forever. I started to wonder if he knew he was going to do this months ago and just did all that stuff to make it hurt more."

I pulled him against me and he hid my face in my shoulder while I wrapped his hands in my own gloved ones. _What the hell is wrong with kids these days? Who the hell would do something like that? That was so fucked up!_ I had half a mind to find this kid and kick his ass. This kid who seemed to have a constant smile on his face was sobbing in the arms of a practical stranger because some bastard thought it would be funny to break his heart. "He doesn't deserve you then. You can do a lot better."

"I don't think so." He moved sideways and place his head in my lap, keeping hold of my hands. He turned the collar of his coat up in attempt to hide his red face but it didn't work very well. I let him stay like that until he calmed down. I ran my fingers through his hair and pretended I wasn't smiling behind the dark grey fabric covering the bottom half of my face. It felt like we had known each other for years, yet we had just met.

He pretended he didn't just shiver and cheerfully commented, "I hear it's supposed to snow later. Do you think it will?"

He turned over onto his back and gazed up at me. A guy could get lost in eyes like that. I pulled my scarf off and dropped it on his face instead of answering and waited for him to sit up. "Let's get something warm in you."

"You don't have to."

"I wouldn't offer if i didn't want to." He placed my scarf in my lap and draped his bag over his shoulder. I stood and wrapped my scarf around him, but he didn't protest. If anything he seemed more opposed to letting me hold his hand on the way to a coffee shop nearby. I couldn't tell if the sudden color on his face was from the cold or if he was blushing. Maybe it was a mix of the two. I took a few deeps breaths in attempt to calm my racing heart. _What's so special about this brat? _ If it had been anybody else I would have kept walking so why… Why did I feel so compelled to help him? "Can I have your name?"

"Levi."

He nodded and smiled to himself as if I had told him some big secret. _Damn, why does he have to be so cute?_ "I'm Armin. Are you a professor?"

"So you _are_ following me now?"

"No! It's nothing like that… I just think I might have seen you on my campus tour."

"Did you apply?"

"Yeah, I don't know if I got in yet. Some other places already sent me acceptance letters. but I'm not sure if I want to go to school out of state." I nodded and squeezed his hand.

"I could check if you want. I have friends in admissions."

He paused thoughtfully and tucked his free hand into his pocket. "Thanks." When we reached the coffee shop he insisted on waiting outside. He claimed he didn't like being in crowded places, but there wasn't anybody inside so that couldn't have been the case. I figured there was somebody in there he didn't want to see… the only question was who was it.

The bell overhead chimed when I shoved the door open and I met with a rush of hot air and the smell of coffee. Some kids were talking too loudly in the corner to suit the homey feel inside, but at the moment they were the only ones in here so I guess that was why. "...started crying, I almost felt sorry for the kid."

_That idiot, who the hell brags about making someone cry. What an asshole._ "Two mint hot chocolates." I leaned against the counter and waited while the cashier made the drinks. The pompous kid in the corner laughed with his friends and I tried to place the colors on his football jacket. Weren't they from the high school? _This bastard… I have half a mind to go over there and wipe that smug look off his face._

After dropping the change in the nearly empty tip jar, I went outside and rejoined Armin on the terrace. He was staring up at the white sky hopefully and didn't seem to notice me at first. "Thanks."

He swirled the candy cane around in his steaming beverage for a few minutes before pulling it out and sticking the end in his mouth. "He's in there isn't he?" Armin didn't respond and busied himself warming his hands with the cup. "He's an ass and you can definitely do better."

Armin sighed and put the candy cane back in his cup, although it had already started to turn his lips and tongue red. "Like who?"

I casually rested one arm on the table and absentmindedly commented, "me." I didn't know if I was actually being serious or not, but his eyes widened and his face turned bright red. He tried to hide behind my scarf, only to remember he had taken it off. "Damn your cute, nobody past thirteen should be able to pull that off."

"Thanks. I'd return the compliment, but you're more regal than adorable." _This cheeky little..._

He jumped and paled when the door opened and he stared at the frosted glass table top. He took a hesitant sip of hot chocolate, only to get a little of the quickly dissolving whipper cream on his nose. I sighed and made a point to wipe it off… only when the kid from earlier called out to Armin I pulled him into a kiss. He slowly relaxed against me, and seemed to realize partially what i was trying to do, because he rested one of his hands along the side of my face. If he let me I felt like I could have stayed like that for house, just being this close to him was intoxicating. It was just so easy to get lost in him, we had just met and I already felt like it had been years. He rested his forehead against mine and bit his lip in attempts to hide a small smile, not that it worked. "I think he's gone now." I caught his blue orbs flick to my lips once more. "I know."

He brushed his lips against mine once more before sitting back and smiling. "Thanks for that. I don't know what I'd do without you." He dropped the rest of his candy cane into the cup took a few sips. "Maybe we can do this again?"

"Maybe, if you can behave yourself." Armin nodded and stared off behind me, then clapped his hands together in excitement. "It's snowing!"

_This brat...it's just snow. What's the big deal?_ I hid a smile behind the rim of my cup and commented, "one snowflake doesn't mean anything."

As if I was being mocked another large flake drifted through the space between us and landed on the table. Armin beamed and pretended he hadn't noticed for my benefit. "Can we go back to the park?"

_What's with this kid? Don't tell me a kiss and some snow was all it took to cheer him up. That's way too easy!_ "Finish that first then we'll see. You don't want to get sick."

He nodded and moved into the chair next to me so he could rest his head on my shoulder. "Thanks Levi. You're the best."

I sighed softly and ran my fingers through his hair, "It's the least I can do for a brat like you."


End file.
